We all know what's at stake tonight. We clearly need to win this game, and, oh yeah, every subsequent game between now and game seven of the Stanley Cup Final (am I deluded enough to think we'll make it there? No. But I AM drunk enough). If we can't beat Gretzky's mongrels, then we're royal screwed. I could take losing to the Wings. We weren't supposed to beat them anyway. And though the Oilers seem to be in the habit (sometimes) of winning games they have no business winning, then uh, surely tonight... Frick, we CAN'T lose.

But the Coyotes are in a pretty rough spot, as one Robin Brownlee pointed out today. Man, if I could buy four tickets, and a pile of nachos with that metamucil-consistency cheese on it for $70, I'd buy EIGHT tickets and TWO orders of those sick, sick nachos. The problem with those dried out mummy husks down in Phoenix is that they don't get it. They never did. Here's what they're all about down in Phoenix:

Plastic surgery

Golf

Shuffleboard

Bus tours of the Grand Canyon

Air conditioning

Getting old

Eventually dying

You know what's not in that list? HOCKEY.

So while the Oilers lay down a five-alarm beating on the hapless Coyotes tonight and Wayne Gretzky ages before our very eyes, I want you to consider that in a way we're lucky. Not because we have to drop $200 a seat to go to a game and an additional down-payment-on-a-house-sized wad of dough just to drink ourselves into a stupor at RX1. But because we're in this thing, still, against all odds. It gives me and Wanye a reason to wake up in the morning. This isn't just about hockey... OK it is.

What's my point? I've forgotten. But to steal the hilarious thunder of some of our commenters, I think my point is this: "GAME DAY!!*"

*send Smokin' Ray Burnt a quarter in the mail.

Bingofuel is the handsome cyborg who pulls all the levers behind the curtains of the OilersNation. When he isn't running the site, he's plugged into a wall socket, recharging. Or Brownlee and Wanye are playing "keep away" with him. He gets little to no respect.

When the Oilers marched into Chicago and took two points: I felt like that was the moment they came out and declaired, “We are a playoff team…”
Last night they took it back.
Every single other team in the north west has posted at least one 100pt season in the last five or six years. Every single other team in the north west has opened a playoff series at home… In the last 5 years the Oilers have made the playoffs ONCE… as the eigth seed (Thanks to Vancouver tanking)… The Oilers haven’t hosted a home playoff opener since the early 90’s and haven’t posted a 100 or more points in the regular season since 1986. I’m sick of all the excuses. I’m sick of hearing things like, “The first 5 years under Lowe don’t count because the Oilers lacked the financial rescourcesd to compete…”; or “Injuries…blah…blah”; or “Pronger left us….blah…blah.” Fact is, the Oilers have fallen into a culture of losing. This culture of losing is about 17 years old; starting with those horrible back to back 26 and 27 win seasons… Every other team in the NHL that has a culture of losing has their own reasons and excuses… But that doesn’t change the bottom line. The Oilers simply aren’t good enough; they haven’t been good enough for the better part of twenty years; and there isn’t a lot of help on the way… Based on the lack of hustle I saw last night; especially after Roli was pulled; It sure looks like there is a high comfort level with losing… Where is the fight?

Well maybe we can lose some more and hope the new owner has some balls to do something. But I agree with everyword, I'm sick of the horse crap and constant excuse making and lying to the fans. I'm sick of losing, I'm sick of settling for mediocre and I'm sick of not having any good to great players. This summer will tell if i'm hanging up my Oiler fandom for good or not, I can't continue to support this culture of losing anymore, I just can't take it anymore.